Magazine target trap



A. W. G. ERVINE EI'AL March 1a, 1958 MAGAZINE TARGET TRAP 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 4, 1953 March 1953 A. w. G. ERVINE ETAL 2,827,036

MAGAZINE TARGET TRAP Filed May 4, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ERT w. G. ERV/NE GEORGE R. MEL/CK WARREN s. REYNOLDS ZTTORNES March 18, 1958 A. w. G. ERVINE ETAL MAGAZINE TARGET TRAP 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 4, 1953 W S RW E a M T R E B L A GEORGE R. MEL/CK BY WARREN s. REYNOLDS March 18, 1958 A. w. s. ERVINE ETAL 2,

MAGAZINE TARGET TRAP 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 4, 1953 ENTORS ALBERT w. G.ERV/NE GEORGE R. MEL/CK BY WARREN s. REYNOLDS nited States Patent C MAGAZINE TARGET TRAP Albert W. G. Ervine, Bridgeport, George R. Melick, Fairfield, and Warren S. Reynolds, Westport, Conn., assignors to Remington Arms Company, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn, a corporation of Delaware Application May 4, 1953, Serial No. 352,692

6 Claims. (Cl. 124-47) This invention relates to automatically operating target throwing traps, and contemplates a novel magazine for supporting a plurality of stacks of targets in juxtaposition to the target throwing arm of a trap and delivering such targets one-at-a-time to said throwing arm as an incident to there-cocking of said throwing arm after a target has been thrown therefrom.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a target throwing trap equipped with a target magazine and magazine controlling devices embodying one form of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, of the magazine.

Fig. 2A is a partial sectional view on the line 2A-2A indicated on Figs. 1 and 3.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional plan view, substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2A. A part of the main spring housing is shown in horizontal section, and other parts are omitted to better show the magazine indexing devices.

Fig. 4 is a somewhat diagrammatic elevation, substantially on the line 44 of Fig. 1. For greater clarity, the targets in the holders are shown in side elevation, rather than in section, and the control belt is shown in broken lines, notwithstanding it is actually positioned in front of the section. V V

The essential parts of a target throwing trap of a type to which the present invention is applicable are a pivoted target throwing arm, which is latched in a target-receiving position, and power means, usually in the form of one or more springs, adapted to rapidly accelerate angular movement of the throwing arm when the latch is withdrawn. Means are provided for restoring the throwing arm to its initial or cooked position after the delivery of a target therefrom, and for recocking the throwing spring or other power means. The power for this purpose may be manual or it may be derived from a motor, but the placement of each target upon the throwing arm in cocked position is almost invariably a manual operation, notwithstanding various devices have been proposed for storing targets adjacent to the cocked position of the throwing arm and delivering said targets to the throwing arm one-at-a-time in conjunction with the restoration of the throwing arm to cocked position. A source of great difliculty in the construction of such equipment has been the separation of a single target from a target supply and the support of the target supply While a single target was removed therefrom.

The present invention contemplates a novel and unique means for supporting one or more columns of targets, releasing the lowermost target in a column while adequately supporting the targets remaining in said column, and transferring the released target to the throwing arm.

Referring particularly to Figs 1, 2 and 2A, a target carrier 1 is rigidly secured to a throwing arm 2, which arm is provided with an apertured boss 3 mounted for rotation on a fixed sleeve 4 encircling a rotatable arbor or ice post 5. Extending laterally from boss 3 is an arm 6 which is pivotally joined at 7 to a link 8 adapted to be propelled by suitable means, such as a compression spring 9 which abuts a plate 10 of a spring housing or frame 11 having a pivotal connection 12 to a cocking lever 13 pivoted to the frame at 131. The throwing arm 2 is held in cocked position against the thrust of throwing spring '9 by the engagement with a lug 14 on arm 6 of the nose of a lever 15 which is pivoted to the frame at 16 and is provided with an arm 17 having a cam face 171 adapted to be displaced by a stud 18 projecting downwardly from the face of a horizontally disposed cam 19. Substantially all of the movements incident to the throwing of a target, the recocking of throwing spring 9, and the delivery of another target to the throwing arm, are controlled by said cam 19, which cam is secured on a vertically disposed shaft 20 provided with a worm gear 21 engaged by a worm 22 secured to a horizontally disposed arbor 23 adapted to be driven by an external source of power (not shown). The periphery of cam 19 is engaged by roller 132 on cooking lever 13.

According to the present invention, a target holding magazine is supported above the throwing arm on a column or sleeve, preferably coaxial with the throwing arm, and devices associated with the magazine support effect the delivery of targets one-at-a-time from the magazine to the throwing arm. Said devices are actuated from the cam 19 as an incident to each restoration of the throwing arm 2 and cocking of throwing spring 9. In the present illustrative embodiment of the invention, the arbor 5 serves as the magazine support, and receives an indexing movement from main cam 19. For the purpose of indexing arbor 5, a link 24 pivoted to the cocking lever 13 is provided with a nose 25 adapted to engage the teeth of a ratchet 26 secured adjacent the lower end of said arbor 5. Link 24 is held in operative engagement with the teeth of said ratchet by suitable means, such as a spring 27.

Arbor 5 extends upwardly from the mechanism housing frame and above the plane of the target carrier 1, and has secured to its upper portion a multiple stack magazine, the number of target stacks in said magazine being equal to the number of teeth on ratchet 26.

While the construction of the target magazine itself, as well as the operating devices therefor herein described, may be varied substantially, the magazine selected for the purpose of illustration is as follows: 7

A generally circular top plate 28, comprising radial reinforcing ribs 29, is provided with a centrally disposed boss 30 which receives the upper end of arbor 5 and is secured thereto by suitable means such as a stud 31 extending transversely through aligned apertures in the arbor and the boss respectively. Plate 23 further comprises adjacent its periphery a number of downwardly extending studs 32 adapted to be embraced by the marginal portions 33 of a plurality of sheet metal target holders 34 symmetrically disposed in the outer portion of plate 28, said plate comprising cut-outs of the same configuration and dimensions as the target holders, so, that the targets T can be inserted in the respective holders from the top. The magazine further comprises a bottom plate 35 which may be identical in construction with the top plate. 28, the studs 32 thereon being respectively in vertical alignment with the studs 32 of the top plate and serving as holders for the bottoms of the several target holders 34. As clearly shown in Fig. l, the lateral opening of each target holder is substantially less than target diameter,

so that each holder retains a stack of targets in place bottom magazine plate 35, is a fixed plate 36 which, ac-

3 cordingto the present illustrative embodiment, is secured, to the upper end of the fixed sleeve 4, although it will be obvious that it might be otherwise supported. Oneradial portion of plate 36 affords a support fora target in transit from the magazine to the carrier 1; The re mainder of that portion of the platewhich'is located be.- neath the target holders 34 may afford a temporary support for targets which have just been placed in said holders, but otherwise the targets in the magazine are supported entirely free from said fixed plate by means which may be constructed as follows: a

' The outer end portions of the ribs 29 of the bottom plate 35 are extended upwardly and terminate in smooth ve'rtic'allydisposed.arcuate faces 37 adapted for engage ment'by a belt 38 of flexible material, the peripheral portion 39 of bottom plate 35 extending radially outward beyond the faces 37 and affording a bottom support for saidbeltI Said belt thus encircles the lower portion of the magazine, laterally engaging in turn a rib face 37, a marginal portion 33 of a target holder 34 where such marginal portion partially encircles a stud "32, the peripheral portion of a few of the lowermost targets in such target holder, the second margin 33 of the same target holder, then the end face 37 of .a second rib 29; this 7 sequence continuing throughout the periphery of the magaaine except ata point at which the lowermost targetin a target holder is to be released for delivery to the carrier;

Adjacent the target delivery point, as shown in the lower-left portion of Fig. l, the belt 38 passes over a pulley 49 carried by a lever 41 mounted on a fixed pivot 42 and drawn radially outward with respect to the magazine by suitable means such as a spring 43. Thus, as clearly shown in Fig. l, the lowermost targets in'each of the holders are peripherally engaged by the belt with sufficient force to support the entire stack of targets'in each holder in all positions of the holder except the position shown at the lower left in Fig. l, in which position each stack of targets in turn is freed from the holding support of belt 38 and the targets drop into supporting our gagement with the fixed plate 36. This movement and the subsequent movements of the target beingdelivered are best illustrated in Fig. 4. m which the rightmost stack of targets is in the position I (Fig. 1), the middle stack is in the position II, and the leftmost stack is-in the position IIL In position I the belt embraces the peripheries of about three of the lowermost targets in the holder and extends below the bottom of therim of the lowermost target by an amount equal to say one-third to one-half the height of said rim. in position II the belt 38 has been withdrawn fromperipheral engagement with the target stack by its traverse over pulley 40, and the target stack has dropped until it is supported on the uppersurface of most target, however, has been delivered to'the throwing arm. For this'purpose, the plate 36 comprises a circular aperture 361 and adjacent the margin of this aperture a; depressed crescent-shaped portion 362. Fig. 4 shows at T in broken lines a portion. of. a target resting on the ledge 362 It has dropped substantially vertically to this position, being thus freed from binding engagement with the next target, shown at T, above it. The upper portion of its rim is still opposite the lower marginal portion of belt 38, but'this overlap is such that the belt cannot support the weight of the target, although it does assist in sliding the target oiffrorn'ledge 362, allowing it a; drop onto the carrier 1, as shown at T "Th e-c'arrier 1 is provided with a guide strip of friction material such as rubber along which the target rolls as it is discharged from the trap. As shown in Fig.

R of the target. While the angular movementof the carrier is -ordinarily adequate to displace a target laterally from the T position to the T position, it'is sometimes desirable to do this before the throwing arm is set in motion, say as an incident to the cocking of the throwing spring 9. A typical devicefor this purpose may be constructed as follows: a

V Pivoted to the throwing arm 2 at 52', Figs. 1 and 2A is a plate 53 .rcomprising'a finger 54 extending along the carrier opposite the rim of a target in Tg'gPOSfiiOH. Rigidly connected to plate 53 is a yoke 55' whichfas shown in Fig. 2A,'extends beneath the throwing arm and terminates in an'upwardly extending arm 56 adapted to engage the opposite sideof the throwing arm. The yoke thus embraces the' throwing.larm.'.with a lost motion equal to the difference between the length of the yoke and the width of the throwing arm. A spring 57 tensioned between finger 54 and a stud on the throwing arm tends to draw said finger toward the carrier. but this movement is normally prevented by the engagement with the outside of yoke arm 56 by a rod 58pivoted to the free end of the cocking lever 13 and passing through a guide hole in a member 58A secured to the frame. When the cocking lever is in the position shown in Fig. 3, the end of rod 58 clears the yoke arm 56, permitting spring 57 to move the assembly comprising finger .54 to shift a target from T position to T P sition. Said finger remains in engagement with the target until the throwing arm is released and the target moves outward V 7 upon the carrier. During target throwing movement of the throwing arm and carrier, the cam following roller 132 rides'oif the high part of cam' l9, permitting the cocking lever 13 to move to the right, and thus both enables the restoration of the carrier 'to -target-receiving position without stressing of the throwing spring 9, and moves. rod 58' into-the path of yoke arm :56. Thus, as

the-carrier is restored to target-receiving position} the finger 54 is stopped withrelation to the target intransit in the position shown in Fig. 4 in unbrokenlines.

Summary of operation a In considering the operation ofourimprovedmag,

azine, it-will berememb ered that the multiple stack .in'agazine is pinned to the arbor 5 and is rotatably indexed one step for each target throwing operation." This indexing takes place as the throwing arml is cooked by :the cam '19 since thelink 24-ispivoted'to. the cocking'lever 13 and provided with a nose 25. which engages the ratchet 26 0n the'arbor 5 and indexes it one step as the arm is cocked. In the magazine itself the six target stack holders 34 are each engaged between the top plate 28. and bottom the idler pulley 40, the belt 38 engages/the lowermost target in the stack and, holding'it over against the back side of-the target stack holder, servesto support thelowermost targetand those above it, asindicatedat position I of Figs. 1 andAL' At'the releasing position the idler 40 holds the belt away from'the magazine and, deprived ofthe support of the belt, that target stackz drops into engagement with the bottom plate'36, as indicated at position Il of Figs. l -and.4.

Between positions 11 and 'III' of Figsrl and 4, the'bot tom plate'36 is cut out'above a depressed crescent-shaped shelf 3 62 and between the plate 36 and the shelf362 a circular targetdeliveryaperture 361 is defined. 1 As the target stack is indexed;frompositionII topositionIII,

the targets slide over the top surface of *the p'late36 and theflowermost'target drops onto the-support of the shelf 362.. At'substantially this point the beltreengages the targets in the stack, particularly target, T and those immediately above 'it, but only 'the lower edge of the belt engages the-upper edgeportion of the'base' R enemas of the lower target T indicated in Fig. 4. As a result of this slight engagement with the belt and of the fact that the dome of the lowermost target is engaged within the throwing rim of the target next above it, the bottom target will be moved off of the shelf 362 and dropped onto the throwing arm 1 as the target stack completes its movement to position III. In position 111, as noted in Fig. 4, the then lowermost target in the stack is supported above the bottom plate 36 by its confinement between the belt 38 and the inner periphery of the target stack holder.

On the throwing arm the target will be moved into engagement with the guide strip 50 by means such as the finger 54 which, as explained, is actuated in concert with the throwing arm.

A completely automatic transfer of targets from magazine to carrier is thus provided, the bottom target being withdrawn from each magazine stack in turn with each successive discharge of a target, and continuous operation requiring nothing more than the occasional replenishment of the target supply in the magazine.

What is claimed is:

1. Magazine apparatus for holding a plurality of targets and delivering said targets one at a time to a target throwing trap, said apparatus comprising an assembly of a plurality of circumferentially spaced target holding receptacles so arranged as to expose a portion of the periphery of a stack of targets in each of said receptacles, and a flexible belt member embracing said magazine and adapted to laterally engage the peripheries of a portion of the targets in each of said receptacles to urge the targets radially inward into frictional engagement with said receptacles and thereby retain the stack of targets in each of said receptacles against downward displacement, means for indexably rotating said magazine apparatus, and means for displacing said flexible member out of engagement with the stack of targets as each of said receptacles in turn reaches a predetermined indexed position to temporarily release said targets from said flexible member.

2. Apparatus for holding a plurality of targets and delivering said targets one at a time to a target throwing trap, said apparatus comprising an indexable drum, means on said drum for holding a plurality of stacks of targets with a portion of the periphery of the targets in each stack exposed adjacent the periphery of said drum, and means for retaining said plurality of stacks of targets against downward displacement comprising a flexible member adapted to engage the peripheries of the lowermost targets in each of said stacks, means for holding said flexible member out of engagement with the targets of a stack in a predetermined indexed position, means being provided in said predetermined position to afiord temporary support to the said targets of a stack.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which said flexible member holding means comprises a roller in spaced relation to the periphery of said drum and said flexible member is a continuous belt which traverses said roller and engages the peripheries of the lowermost targets in each of said stacks except the stack which is substantially in radial alignment with the axis of said drum and the axis of said roller.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, said means to aiiord temporary support comprising a plate positioned beneath said drum and adapted to temporarily support each stack of targets in turn as said stack of targets is released from support by said flexible member, and means to release the lowermost target of a stack from said plate as said magazine is indexably rotated.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, comprising an aperture in said plate through which a single target is delivered from the bottom of a stack in said drum to the said trap,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 871,443 Richardson Nov. 19, 1907 2,267,525 Kemp Dec. 23, 1941 2,310,746 Parker et al. Feb. 9, 1943 2,469,016 Stopper May 3, 1949 2,711,726 Darrell June 28, 1955 

